


The Right Tool for the Job

by AriesDraco



Category: Naruto
Genre: Ambiguous Relationship, Darkfic, Implied offscreen rape, M/M, Other, Young sannin fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-01-04
Updated: 2016-01-04
Packaged: 2018-05-11 18:13:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,120
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5636938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AriesDraco/pseuds/AriesDraco
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Edited sumnary for clarity:</p><p>Orochimaru has a week off, so naturally Jiraiya plans a drinking session for the team, to help heal the distance starting to set in ever since Nawaki's death. But he gets back late from his mission and Orochimaru sees something he probably shouldn't have seen, and by the end, he feels no closer to them than he had been.</p><p>An exploration of the sannin and their dynamics with a mild semblance of a plot. Set before they got famous, after Nawaki died but before Dan kicked it.</p><p>Read the tags for warnings.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Right Tool for the Job

**Author's Note:**

> Abandon all good feels ye who enter. This fic has 'bad end' as the only option.

Even before they became known as the Legendary Sannin and the rumours went into overdrive, there were already stories about the three extremely talented Leaf jounin who were trained by the Hokage's himself. Erroneous stories, exaggerated stories, but during a time of war, convenient stories were more useful than actual facts, because facts could let the enemy formulate good battle plans, while stories just messed them up.

For example, it was commonly believed that the most physically imposing member of their team was also the strongest, so many strategies involved taking down Jiraiya first. However, in terms of sheer brute strength, Tsunade was easily the strongest of the three, and in terms of killing efficiency, Orochimaru usually had the highest body count. It wasn't to say that Jiraiya wasn't formidable on his own, but having the enemy focus on him made it so much easier for the other two to stab them in the back.

Then there was that misconception that just because Tsunade was a medical nin, she would be easiest to take down, and the strategies involving that. The truth was that in terms of defence, Orochimaru was least invested. Though he often seemed composed, he could be as reckless as Jiraiya, especially in the thick of battle, and easily distracted when he wasn't completely focused. 

And perhaps because of his affinity with snakes and their sneaky nature, it was widely assumed that infiltration and information collection was a speciality for Orochimaru. Who would have suspected that the loud, brash Jiraiya was the most talented of the trio at acquiring important information? Orochimaru had always had trouble hiding his tells, and Tsunade was just too pushy and direct, but few were aware of these unique personality quirks, because they had become characters in a stories to be repeated behind enemy lines.

It was the Hokage's job to be aware of the particular talents and weaknesses of each shinobi under his command, and to assign them to roles in which they could best perform, for the good of Konoha and the Land of Fire. Tsunade was best employed as a trainer for the newly set up medical nin corps, or when they needed extra pressure on the enemy. Orochimaru was the blunt weapon with the very sharp sword that would be sent out if massacres were required. Jiraiya was most often in the front lines, but if there was an especially dangerous infiltration, he would be high on the list of first picks.  
He spent the first day of his compulsory leave performing thorough maintenance on all of his weapons, doing laundry and uniform repairs. Of course he had kept up with the field maintenance of his weapons, but proper checking, cleaning, oiling and sharpening helped increase their lifespan and effectiveness. Laundry and uniform upkeep was mostly deciding how many things were damaged enough to burn, and how many new sets he needed to collect. It wasn't particularly fun or relaxing, but at least it was a constructive use of his time. He was so close with that new jutsu he had been testing out on the battlefield, but now that he was home, there were no convenient subjects to practise on.

It gnawed at him, but he resigned himself to not being able to work on it for the time being and had to be content with writing down what he had already figured out so he could refer back to it when he needed to. He didn't particularly enjoy documentation either, but it was a necessary evil.

By the second day, he was idly wondering whether anyone would miss him if he nipped down to the border to pick a fight and continue experimenting with the jutsu. But the sun was out and the breeze was good, so he napped instead and woke sluggish but content, no longer obsessively going over his work.

On the third day, he recalled that this was one of the few breaks that all three of them had in common. Or rather, he recalled Jiraiya being very, very loudly insistent that they get together for drinks when he got back from his mission, which was supposed to be today, give or take. It wasn't a bad idea, really, though at the time, he had shot it down repeatedly until he ran out of patience bent to Jiraiya's badgering. 

They had been drifting apart. As they got better at what they did, the more efficient deployment of resources meant they were more often split up. As much as he was loath to admit it, he missed his team mates. He missed the easy comaraderie they used to have, that sense of belonging that was slowly being stretched thinner and thinner as the days went by. But it was pretty clear that they were never going to be able to go back to those times. He hadn't been able to spend time alone comfortably with Tsunade or look her properly in the eye since Nawaki died. But if Jiraiya was around, and there were drinks, maybe...  
On the fourth day, he started keeping an ear out for Jiraiya's return. It wasn't unusual for missions to be delayed by a few days, though longer delays had to be reported. Unreported long delays usually meant an Anbu deployment to either help out or clean up, though in these troubled times, the latter was far more common than the former. He kept this thought way back in his mind, because he wasn't worried. Jiraiya knew what he was doing, and Sarutobi-sen... the Hokage also knew what he was doing.

On the fifth day, he found himself in a heated discussion with Tsunade whether is was possible or desirable to develop a simplified healing jutsu that could be taught to everyone, so that they could perform first aid on themselves. He was of the opinion that the more 'safety measures' were in place, the more reckless any given ninja would be, while Tsunade just wanted to protect everyone. It was understandable, given her recent experiences, but Orochimaru was merciless in debates, and only when she'd nearly chucked a chair at him did he notice that he had torn apart a rather fresh wound in Tsunade's heart. 

As a concession to this, he offered that soldier pills might be easier to disseminate and use than a new jutsu, especially in the chaos of a battle and she glared at him with her "You know, you are still an asshole" glare, which he had to concede to, and let the matter drop.

"Jiraiya was saying that he wanted to do drinks when he got back," he mentioned casually. "Have you heard from him yet?"

"Was that this week? Well, I wouldn't be surprised if he stopped by some bathhouse or brothel on the way back."

It wasn't out of character for Jiraiya to get distracted by women. It was slightly more out of character for him to tarry when he was already late, but then again, his perversion had only increased from puberty with no sign of abating. 

He had never understood it himself, this constant desire to engage in sexual activity. At first, he had put it down to being a late developer in that aspect, but puberty came and went and he'd still felt no compulsion to jump into bed with anyone. Then he figured that his self control was just better than everyone else and left it at that. 

Jiraiya, though, just could not believe that anyone could be less horny than himself and dedicated quite some effort into getting him laid, from 'accidentally' dropping pornography in his general vicinity to inviting him to strip shows and, twice, out and out hiring prostitutes. He had been so annoyed at the last attempt with that male prostitute with a talent for emotional blackmail that no doubt made him a very successful whore that he'd turned around and said very, very sweetly, "If you're so desperate to get me laid, why don't you do it yourself? I might make an exception for you."

Jiraiya had choked and spluttered and turned several amusing shades of pale and red rapidly before literally running away. The matter was never brought up again.

That evening, he took a stroll around Konoha. There was no sign of any trouble around the bathhouses or whorehouses. Jiraiya's apartment remained empty.  
Late in the evening of the sixth day, Jiraiya arrived back in Konoha.

It was merely random happenstance that Orochimaru just happened to be in the vicinity of his apartment again for the second time in two days. But since he was in the area when Jiraiya returned, it was only right that he greeted his friend. On hindsight, stepping silently out of the shadows behind said friend who had spent weeks deep in enemy territories was probably not the best idea.

"Would it kill you to walk less quietly?" said Jiraiya finally after a moment.

"Yes, actually," replied Orochimaru, almost casually while lowering his kunai and removing Jiraiya's from the vicinity of his throat. They stood there awhile more, silent and still, until the bloodlust receded and he wasn't seeing darkness on the edges of his vision, and he could take a good look at his newly returned friend. 

Jiraiya looked like shit. His skin was ashen and his clothes looked like he had been running around in them for days, like he had been chased across a battlefield instead of returning from an infiltration mission. It set off alarm bells in Orochimaru's head, but they were inside Konoha, and Jiraiya was moving otherwise calmly, and he couldn't feel any other malicious presences anyway.

"Let me go get Tsunade," he told his friend and teammate, but Jiraiya shook his head.

"I'm not injured. Just need a shower and a good rest, that's all."

"Your heart is racing and your breathing is shallow," observed Orochimaru.

"You think getting jumped by you has anything to do with it?" retorted Jiraiya.

"And you are limping." Not obviously, but when you'd spent so much time with a person, you tended to memorise their gaits. Besides, from his teammate's subtle wince, he could confirm that he wasn't wrong.

"Had to hurry back, after all. Didn't want to miss our little gathering," replied the white-haired nin, already turning away to head up to his apartment. "Anyway, it's late. I am going to take that shower and head over to the Hokage's office for the debrief."

"Tonight?" 

"Yeah, cos, tomorrow's your last day off isn't it? If I don't get that done tonight, there won't be time tomorrow."

"And how was your mission?" 

Jiraiya visibly flinched. "Successfully completed," was the uncharacteristically flat reply. 

Something was wrong, but Jiraiya didn't want to talk about it. Or possibly, given the nature of his mission, he couldn't. This was just another normal consequence of being a ninja, one that was often an annoyance to Orochimaru, who always felt like he had to know everything. But compartmentalising information was important in case of leaks, from a very rational standpoint, so he set it aside.

"We were starting to think that you were dallying around in some brothel on the way back," he said conversationally, and even from behind, he could just see the smile on the white-haired man's face.

"Were I that lucky," chuckled Jiraiya. "Would have been nice to unwind a bit before coming back."

"But you would have missed the gathering," Orochimaru pointed out. 

"No, you would have missed the gathering," countered Jiraiya. "I would have gone drinking with Tsunade anyway."

That... stung a little bit. But it was true. He wouldn't have asked Tsunade out himself, especially not for drinks. As he had already proven, it would have been too awkward. It had to be Jiraiya to organise it. This was the distance between them now.

"Hey, Orochimaru, would you like to come in?"

They were at the door of his apartment. It had seemed perfectly natural to walk and talk without regard to the destination, and now that they were there, it would have been perfectly natural for him to say goodnight and walk away. But since he was being invited in...

Jiraiya barred his way from just inside the doorway, face shadowed. "Just to clarify, by that I meant, would you like go to bed with me tonight?"

Orochimaru froze. 

"In a sexual manner," added Jiraiya, as if everything needed to be spelt out like that! "You did say before that you'd make an exception for me."

"Didn't you need to report to the Hokage tonight?" Orochimaru found himself saying as his brain short-circuited.

Even with his excellent night vision, it was too bright outside and too dark inside for him to get a good look at Jiraiya's face. Was he being teased? Something about that tone of voice didn't seem like it. But then Jiraiya stuck his head out into the light and grinned, "Yea, I guess" and then promptly vanished inside.

It didn't occur to him not to follow.  
Jiraiya certainly didn't expect to find him sitting on the bed as if he belonged there.

Orochimaru let his eyes linger on the taut muscles, the broad shoulders, the towel tenting around his narrow waist and licked his lips absently, earning himself a choked sound from his near-naked friend.

After his shower, Jiraiya looked even worse, as if the dirt and grime had been a protective mask that had been washed away. There were bruises and scratches all over his body, though nothing looked particularly bad or life threatening. His eyes were dark, as though he hadn't been sleeping properly, eyebags standing out starkly against the current pallor of his skin. And then there was the way he was standing, hands subtly in front of him, defensive, though, granted, most people would be if they had just been ambushed while coming out of the shower.

"Were you serious?" asked Orochimaru, comfortably seated on the bed facing the shower door. 

He could see Jiraiya's eyes widen, pupils dilating, could hear that sharp intake of breath as his friend scanned his body, no doubt stripping him mentally, judging by the abrupt, abortive movement of his hands towards the growing tent in the towel. Then their eyes met, and, in that instant, he could see the flicker of lustwanthorrordisgustfearfearfear.

For someone called a 'genius', he was unfuckingbelievably stupid, always just that one step too slow. And perhaps his thoughts showed on his face because Jiraiya was scrambling for his mask of cheerful nonchalance, though not quite getting there.

"I was only joking, I'm really tired, don't know what I'm doing. Maybe I'll go in tomorrow instead, in the morning or something, catch a couple of winks."

"Goodnight," he said abruptly, because he didn't know how to deal with that half-frightened, half-longing look on Jiraiya's face, and left, fleeing into the night.  
The last day of his break he spent catching up on field reports, rereading his notes on that latest jutsu and setting them on fire because it didn't look as good now that he had had some time away from it to review it objectively. He packed his gear, double checked his weapons and took inventory. And when evening rolled around, he thought he would have an early night, but his feet brought him to their old drinking grounds, where Jiraiya and Tsunade were waiting.

To his relief, things really weren't that awkward at all. Jiraiya must have managed to see a medical nin at some point in time, because the colour had come back to his face and his laughter was boisterous and real. 

"You look much better than last night," he found himself saying fondly before he had a chance send it through his poorly functioning brain-mouth filter.

The other two merely shot him quizzical look. 

"Last night?" echoed Jiraiya, looking genuinely confused.

"But he only got back this morning though?" added Tsunade, momentarily perplexed, before breaking out into a wicked grin. "Why, Orocchan, were you dreaming about him?"

Dreaming? Why the fuck would he dream of anything like that?

"Then where were you last night?" he asked, staring Jiraiya straight in the eye.

His white-haired teammate stared right back at him, a little distantly, as if trying to recall, before shrugging and chugging another cup of sake. "Must have been too tired to remember. I woke up at the med bay at the Hokage office this morning, so I musta gone there last night."

"But I saw you last night, at your apartment."

"Ooooo, what were you doing at Jiraiya's apartment?"

That came out wrong, but then again, he wasn't even trying anymore. 

Jiraiya gave another confused shrug. "Maybe they accidentally pulled too much out when they were pulling the mission information," he said.

"What." Tsunade went from cheerfully buzzed to hyperalert medic nin in the time it took to blink, grabbing Jiraiya by the face and checking his eyes. "Why would they do something so dangerous?"

"Dunno, maybe I was too lazy to write a report? Hahaha...OW!" 

Tsunade had smacked him hard enough to bruise. At any other time, he would have found it amusing, but his mind was whirling and Tsunade was turning to him.

"You saw him last night, how was his condition? And why didn't you tell me earlier, you ass?"

How was his condition? Orochimaru glanced over at the white-haired man, who was muttering about the bruise and fake crying about it but practically glowing with happiness. 

"He was filthy. I told him to go shower and get some sleep," he told Tsunade decisively. "Since there were no serious injuries and he was going to head to the Hokage's office first thing in the morning, I didn't think to bother you."

"Tsuna-chan, my arm hurts, let me heal it between your boobs!"

Tsunade twitched, obviously resisting the urge to pound his stupid head into the ground. "Well, you seem energetic enough," she said, smiling sweetly while exuding a general aura of doom. 

Orochimaru made his excuses after another two bottles. He stared for a long time at the Hokage's office, but, they were ninjas. Information was safest compartmentalised. Jiraiya knew what he was doing. The Hokage knew what he was doing. The best nin for each and every job.

When he closed his eyes, he saw Jiraiya's face from the previous night, so he opened them and went home. He had to set out tomorrow, after all. There were things to pack, weapons to check, and field reports to catch up on. And, maybe that jutsu wasn't really such a bad thing after all, was it? He was going to have some good chances to tweak it soon.

Smiling ferociously, Orochimaru went home.

**Author's Note:**

> Before he went off the deep end, Orochimaru seemed like a pretty ok person, didn't he? 
> 
> Anyway, this fic was brought to you courtesy of my Galaxy Note 4, being typed out entirely on my phone because I can't seem to write properly anymore.


End file.
